Cutoff machine



A. H. LONG CUTOFF MACHINE June 15, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 8, 1949 INVENTOR. Amman/J. Lave BY MQM #IS Arron/wry! June 15, 1954 A'. H. LONG 2,681,106

CUTOFF MACHINE Filed Dec. 8, 1949 4'sheets s heei 2 5' 6/ H Y flay/45 G IN VEN TOR. 4Q 71400 H lo vca A. H. LONG CUTOFF MACHINE June 15, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 8, 1949 INVENTOR. ARTHUR H. Lo/vc BY% 2 Z Patented June 15, 1954 'NIITE-D STATES FATEN OFFICE 'CUTOFF MACHINE ArthurH. Long, Pittsburgh, Pa.,eassignor rtn wm. .K. Stamets Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., amorporation of Pennsylvania Application December 8, 1949, "Serial No. 131,740

(Cl. 'l64--.6.0)

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to machine tools and particularly to machines for cuttingioff .leng'ths of pipe stock.

This cutoff machine may :be operated in conjunction :with a measuring :control apparatus to -'cut off predetermined lengths of stock. The pieces cut from the stock are usually of predetermined lengths but consecutive pieces may be imade of different lengthsthrough control of :the measuring device. .Pip stock is fed to the :cutnd machine where-it is'clamped and a symmetrica'l arrangement of rotary discs are then fed viracliallyinto the stockandare revolved as they cut-into the material. The discs are preferably ;mounted to idly rotate on their axis and groove the pipebefore finally severing it. The cutting discs'prevent the formation of external burrs and leave the pipe end with a uniform edge that may :besreadily chamfered and'threadedinside or out. If Lthe-sectionor end of the pipe that is cut oil :iS merely the crop end, a slide zdirects .it .to a conveyor whichmoves itirom the vicinityof the imachine. The cutoif lengths, however, areconveyedz fromthe machine by the outletitable where they .are discharged laterally and stored.

Other objects and advantages appear in the following :description and claims.

.Theaccompanying drawings show,..for the purpose of 'exemplification without limiting athein- :vention or :claims thereto, certain practical .em-

:bodiments of the invention wherein:

,'Fig.'1is a perspective view of the cutoii -maiChlIlETShOWiHglJhB front end thereof;

lFig. 2 is a vview of "the rear elevation of the .cutofi machine showing the cutting heads;

Fig.A3.is a viewin side elevation of the cutoff -machine;

Fig. 41s a front-view in elevation, with parts :shown in section, illustrating the fore clamp and the adjusting wedge;

=Fig5 is a view showing the feed yoke in ele- '=vation; and

-'-Fig.-6 is a sectional View of -the cutter and its --ac'tuating mechanism.

The cutoff machine shown anddescribedis a dual machine designed 'to function as a unit'with their controls interlocked or as separate machines functioning independently asasingle unit.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the cutoii machine is mounted on the sub base i which supports th box-like base member 2 provided with a plureality of spaced troughs 3 and 4 in which are cra'd-led'the fcreand aft chucks '5,*5,'6 and 6. Intermediate the chucks? and lithe cutofi mechanisms"! and 3 are mounted'within'thecradles and are provided :with the iindependent :motors 9 and 3:0 ifor operating the same which are mounted above the cutoff mechanism.

Asshown lII-FigSLI Z and 4,-thechuck castings H straddle their :respective cradle pads 12 and are :bolted thereto. Each of these chuck icastings .is provided with :a. slide i member having :a chuck grip l3 on :the finner .end thereof .and provided with 'a rack 14 on the'underside. The rack 14 is engaged by the geared sector :on the :end of the bell crank lever 15 pivoted on :the shaft 15 carried bythecasting :H. The other =leg.of.=each bell cran'karm is provided witha :gearedssector,

both of :which register with the double-faced piston rack ll.

The piston rack is actuated in a bearing-guide igand :has. connected at its lower end the piston rod 1 9 that connects with .azpneumatic piston operating within the cylinder 20.

The chuck slideslare provided with alimitrswitch trip bracket 2! each'carrying acam member 22 for-striking and .xactuating "the levers :23 .of the limit switches 24 and.-.25. Whentheslidearms are actuated to grip the pipe, the switch :24 is actuated. Theswitchle visactuated when the slidesiare being retracted :from their gripping position. These switches ifiilandziifi are shown in Figs. l and 2, vthereibeingone setiforv each :chnck .or -clamp ..of this dual cutoff machine. When The closingofthe slides carrying the gripping jaws-to clamp a p-ieceof pipe operates the switches 24 to'energize a rapid-traverse forward valve in thehydraulic circuit feeding thefluid motor-45 for rapidly moving the rotary cutters up-to thepipe for cutting off the same. Upon retraction of the gripping jaw slides to unclainp the pipe the "switches 2-5 are-actuated and energize'theniotors operating the table conveyor rolls to move the severe'dpieces-ofpipeout of their respective --cut- "on" machines.

As "shownin'Figs. '1, 2 and i, a motor 526 is are 'provided with shaftsZB that extend'laterally toward the machine as shown in vFig. 4. The shafts "28 are'connected to the "adjusting wedge screw 30 which has a right hand threadscrew 3| and a'le'ft hand'thread screw section '32 and is journaled' intermediate of its ends in 'the bear ing'block 33 that is located in the center of 'the d machine. One of these adjusting mechanisms is provided on each end of the machine and the threaded sections of the adjusting screw are threadably engaged in complementary threaded bores of the bearing blocks 3 and 85, respectively, which ride on the bearing plates 36 and 31 and their upper wedge-shaped surface riding on the wedge wearing plates 38 and 39. The shafts 28 extending from the speed reducers are coupled with the shaft 33 by means of the couplings 40. The motor 26 is a variable speed reversible motor which may be controlled remotely for the purpose of moving the wedge blocks 34 and 35 in or out, thereby raising or lowering the base casting 2 of the machine to raise or lower the cutting center of the machine relative to the tube support rolls in accordance with the size of stock to be worked on.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, the cutoff mechanism 8 is provided with the feed yoke or lever 4| that is pivotally supported by the pin 32 to the housing which extends laterally across the front of the cutoff mechanism and is provided with a pin 23 for the purpose of pivotally attaching the same to the end of the piston rod 44 that extends from the hydraulic cylinder 26. The piston It; extends through a rubber bellows to keep it clean. The hydraulic cylinder 45 is double-acting and may be actuated at varying speeds for pivotally moving the yoke ll on its pivotal axis.

Intermediate the ends of the feed yoke is provided oppositely disposed sockets for receiving the pins 3% with clearance that extend radially from the feed bearing ring 4?, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The annular bearing ring 6? is composed of the stationary member '28 that houses the antifrictional bearing 49 and the rotary feed slide body or sleeve 5%. Thus, by actuating the hydraulic piston 55,. the feed yoke ll causes the bearing ring to move axially of the mechanism and thus reciprocate the rotary feed slide body 59. The rotary feed slide body 56 is an annular member mounted to slide longitudinally on the guide tube 5! which is likewise mounted for rotation and through which the stock extends when it is being cut off. The rotary feed slide body 59 is splined with the rotary head 52, the former operating in a bore of the latter. The head 52 is supported at its front end by the antifrictiona-l bearing 53 and at its rear end by the antifrictional bearing 5:3 which is larger in di ameter as shown in Fig. 6. These spaced antifrictional bearings 53 and E i are mounted in the spindle housing 5'5 and suitable oil rings are provided to maintain a lubricant in their chambers in which the bearings and the gear mechanism operate as illustrated in Fig. 6.

The spindle housing 55 is likewise provided with aligned bearings es and 3? for receiving the shaft 58, the outer end of which extends outside of the spindle housing and is provided with a pulley 59 driven by the belts 69 from the motor 9. Intermediate of the bearings 58 and 57 the shaft 58 is provided with a double helical gear 62 that meshes with the large mating drive gear 63 mounted on the perimeter of the rotary head 52. Thus, rotary motion of the motor is transmitted through the several belts to the shaft 53 and thence by the gears 82 and 53 to the rotary head for rotating the whole of this mechanism.

The rotary head 52 is provided with a bell end 54 having a series of inwardly projecting lugs 65 spaced 120 apart for the purpose of carrying the pivot of the bell crank levers 66. One leg of the bell crank lever 66 is pivotally connected by the link 67 to the rotary feed slide body 50; Whereas the other leg of the bell crank 66 is provided with a cylinder 68 seated in the socket of adjusting nut 69 that is attached to the tool slide 10. Three of such tool slides are provided for each cutting head which is obvious from Fig. 2. The tool slides Hi operate in the guides H and are reciprocable radially toward the center of the axis of the machine. An adjusting screw 12 is provided in each tool slide for changing the relative position of the nut 89 to the slide so as to permit relative adjustment of each tool carried by each tool slide.

The inner end of the tool slide It is provided with a socket 13 for receiving the tool shaft it that is locked in place by the nut 15 and carries on its outer end the bearing members 76 which rotatably support the cutter hub T7 that has a shoulder and a threaded section to receive the cutter nut 18 that supports and clamps the cutter disc iii in place. The cutter disc 19 is freely rotatable on the bearing 16 supported by the shaft which itself rotates with the rotary head 52 about the central axis of the machine.

When a tube or other similar stock article is supported on the inlet table rolls of the cutoff machine, it may be fed through the guide tube 5| and when placed in its proper position the chucks 5 and E are actuated to bring the grips l3 to bear on the tube and hold it tightly in place. The rotary head 52 with its three disc cutters 19, each of which is properly adjusted, is set in motion and the hydraulic cylinder 35 is actuated to move the yoke 41 on its pivotal axis and withdraw the feed bearing ring 4? together with the cylindrical rotary feed slide body 58 out over the guide tube 51. This action creates a pull on the bell crank levers 55 through the links 61 and thus causes the three tool slides in to be fed radially inwardly permitting the cutter discs E9 to engage the pipe and cut it through since the cutting discs are revolving at a considerable speed. When the cutting discs have completely severed the pipe section, the automatic switch 89, in Fig. 3, is actuated to energize a rapid traverse reversing valve in the hydraulic circuit feeding the hydraulic cylinder '85 to rapidly retract the feed yoke and thus retract the cutting discs. The switch 80 is set to be engaged by the cam 8| when the yoke s! is near the outer end of its stroke and the rotary cutting discs IQ are through the wall of the tube. This switch must be reset for diiferent wall thicknesses of pipe. A rapid traverse is supplied to the cylinder 35 to return the yoke il which engages the switch 82 through its cam 83; to deenergize the rapid traverse reversing valve to stop the operation of the cylinder 45. The switch 2 2 permits the cylinder 45 to rapidly traverse in the direction of feed until the switch 8 3 operated by the cam 85 to de-energize the rapid traverse forward valve and at the same time energize the feed valve to change the speed of operation of the cylinder 65 to that of feed which is materially slower. Thus, the cam 85 is set for different sizes of pipe so that the machine has rapid traverse until the cutting discs 39 are just about to engage the pipe.

While, for clarity of explanation, certain preferred embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that this invention is capable of many modifications, and changes in the construction and arrangement may be made therein and certain parts may be employed with conjoint use of other parts and in without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A stock cutoff machine comprising a base, spaced antifriction bearings supported on said base, a hollow cylinder rotatably supported by said antifrictional bearings and having a head at one end and a splined bearing surface means in the bore at the other end, a plurality of slides mounted for radial movement on said head, a tool on each slide, a guide tube extending coaxially through said cylinder, radial members on said head supporting one end of said guide tube for rotation with said cylinder, spaced annular bearing surface means on the perimetral surface of said rotary guide tube and in opposed relation with said splined bearing surface means in the bore of said cylinder, a sleeve having an outer splined bearing surface to cooperate with the splined bearing surface in said. cylinder and having corresponding spaced annular bearing surface means in the bore thereof to slidably engage and support the other end of said rotary guide tube, bell crank linkage pivoted on said head and connecting said slides with the inner end of said sleeve, a ring mounted for relative rotary movement on the outer end of said sleeve, control means to reciprocate said ring and said sleeve to feed the tools in and out to sever stock that extends through said guide tube.

2. The structure of claim 1 which also includes axially aligned and oppositely disposed clamp means supported on said base with one clamp means adjacent each end of said rotary guide tube to hold the stock being cut by said tools independently of said rotary guide tube.

3. The structure of claim 2 which also includes elevating means on said base to raise and lower the antifriction bearings relative to said clamp means to align the axes of the axis of said rotary guide tube with the aligned axes of a workpiece in said clamp means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 29,154 Baker Nov. 3, 1936 1,111,336 Wallace Sept. 22, 1914 1,166,456 Hamer Jan. 4, 1916 1,592,169 Wilkinson July 13, 1926 2,326,463 Johnston Aug. 10, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 101 Great Britain Jan. 9, 1880 290,451 Great Britain May 17, 1928 

